A Flock of Parrots Put My Head in the Sand

So, between Boy Scout Popcorn, Girl Scout Nuts, and preparing for the Heiress and Her Fake Fiance release, I might have gotten a wee bit stressed. When stressed, do I do all the stuff on the To Do List so that I can relieve the stress? Heck, no.

I cook. A. Lot.

Tuscan Lemon Muffins. Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies. Butternut Squash Risotto. Black Bean Soup. Roasted Winter Vegetables. Welcome to my Sunday.

Seriously, I made all of those things in about four hours on Sunday.

Several years ago, a published friend of mine told me a story about a writer who had gotten a book deal. And she froze. Couldn’t write. Sort of freaked out about the whole thing, because it suddenly hit her. This was REAL. It was really happening. And worse than that, now… she had to do it again. Oh. My. God.

At the time I thought, WHO could be that crazy? Um…yeah.

I was trucking along without fear right up until I received my book cover. Opened up my email a few weeks ago (I’d only been checking it 100 times a day waiting for the cover to arrive), and there it was. Reality was staring me in the face.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s a beautiful cover. Karl Warren did a great job. I love my cover. But it’s a cover. Something the rejected manuscripts holding doors open throughout my house don’t have.

At that moment, I had my Oh My God moment. But with popcorn and nuts, I was able to do my ostrich impression and put my head in the sand. Funny thing about that is, life keeps going. Line edits still have to be done. New books still have to be written. Reviews have to be garnered. Blogs have to be…ignored. Oops.

I mentioned I flipped, right?

So, I allowed myself some time in the sand. But now it’s time to brush the sand out of my hair and get back to it. Because it’s my dream. I’ve worked hard for it, and it’s time to enjoy the moment.

So, you want to see the thing that sent me over the edge? Here it is!

Isn’t it gorgeous? I’m thinking of having it painted on my office wall. Well, I would but more often than not, my “office” is my living room, and I don’t think Snarky Daughter and Scout Son want to explain that to their friends.